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WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says if he were president he'd take a harder stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin for events in Ukraine.

"Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is a gross violation of that nation's sovereignty and an affront to the international community," Paul, mentioned as a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, said in a commentary published by Time magazine Sunday. "His continuing occupation of Ukraine is completely unacceptable and Russia's president should be isolated for his actions."

The United States has the duty to condemn these actions "in no uncertain terms," Paul said, speaking of the presence of thousands of troops in Ukraine's autonomous, pro-Russia Crimea, which has scheduled a secession vote for Sunday.

"This does not and should not require military action. No one in the U.S. is calling for this. But it will require other actions and leadership, both of which President Obama unfortunately lacks," Paul said.

He recommended several "specific and decisive measures" to punish Putin, including economic sanctions and visa bans imposed and enforced without delay, which Obama has ordered.

Paul said he would urge European allies to leverage "their considerable weight with Russia and take the lead on imposing these penalties. I would do everything in my power to aggressively market and export America's vast natural gas resources to Europe."

"I would immediately remove every obstacle or current ban blocking the export of American oil and gas to Europe, and I would lift restrictions on new oil and gas development in order to ensure a steady energy supply at home and so we can supply Europe with oil if it is interrupted from Ukraine," Paul said.

Current U.S. energy laws and regulations "left Europe completely vulnerable because of its dependence on Russian oil and gas," he said, adding that he'd order the immediate construction of the Keystone Pipeline.

"It is important that Russia becomes economically isolated until all its forces are removed from Crimea and Putin pledges to act in accordance with the international standards of behavior that respect the rights of free people everywhere," he said.

U.S. loans and aid to Ukraine should be halted because they could be seen as having the counterproductive effect of rewarding Russia, he said.

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Rand Paul outlines how he'd respond to Putin's actions in Ukraine

By Mark Murray

A budding rivalry between Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz -- both potential 2016ers -- now appears to be underway on the issue of foreign policy.

It began on Sunday, when Cruz (R-Texas) told ABC that he disagreed with Paul's foreign-policy views. "I'm a big fan of Rand Paul. He and I are good friends. But I don't agree with him on foreign policy." More Cruz: "I think U.S. leadership is critical in the world. And I agree with him that we should be very reluctant to deploy military force abroad. But I think there is a vital role, just as Ronald Reagan did... The United States has a responsibility to defend our values."

But this morning, Paul fired back with an op-ed on the conservative site Breitbart.com, arguing that some Republicans -- apparently Cruz -- have misrepresented Ronald Reagan's foreign policy.

Though not mentioning Cruz by name, Paul wrote, "Every Republican likes to think he or she is the next Ronald Reagan. Some who say this do so for lack of their own ideas and agenda. Reagan was a great leader and president. But too often people make him into something he wasn't in order to serve their own political purposes... Many forget today that Reagan's decision to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev was harshly criticized by the Republican hawks of his time, some of whom would even call Reagan an appeaser."

Paul concludes, "Today's Republicans should concentrate on establishing their own identities and agendas, as opposed to simply latching onto Ronald Reagan's legacy-or worse, misrepresenting it."

Foreign policy has the potential to be one of the top issues that will divide Republican presidential candidates, with Paul arguing for a lighter U.S. footprint around the world , and other Republicans advocating more hawkish views.

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First published March 10 2014, 11:42 AM

Mark Murray is the Senior Political Editor at NBC News, where he covers politics for the network, writes and edits its popular First Read blog, and appears daily on MSNBC and Washington DCs NBC affiliate to discuss the latest political news.

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2016 Rivals Cruz, Paul Face Off on Foreign Policy

Its on! Ostensible allies for the last couple years, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have commenced the battle for the unofficial title of conservative front-runner. Thats no surprise, but what is remarkable is their choice of weapons: foreign policy. For the last several years, there has been a lot of overblown hype about how the GOP, particularly the party base, is becoming isolationist. So its interesting that Cruz would seek to get to Pauls right on the issue.

The first round began in earnest less than 24 hours after Paul to no ones surprise won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll by a country mile. (Ron and Rand Paul have always overperformed in such contests, and Rand has his fathers machine working for him.)

Im a big fan of Rand Paul. He and I are good friends. I dont agree with him on foreign policy, Cruz said on ABCs This Week. I think U.S. leadership is critical in the world, and I agree with him that we should be very reluctant to deploy military force abroad. But I think there is a vital role, just as Ronald Reagan did... The United States has a responsibility to defend our values.

Paul responded almost immediately with an op-ed for Breitbart.com that was, depending on your reading, either a gentle rebuke or a not-so-passive-aggressive attack on Cruz. Some politicians, he wrote, have used this time to beat their chest. What we dont need right now is politicians who have never seen war talking tough for the sake of their political careers.

Titled Stop Warping Reagans Foreign Policy, Pauls op-ed is a clever bit of rhetorical jujitsu in which he criticizes others for using Reagans legacy while at the same time enlisting it for his own purposes. Paul offers a version of his fathers effort during the 2008 and 2012 presidential primaries to cast the Gipper as a noninterventionist who was plagued by hawks to his right.

Any analysis that casts the passionate anti-communist invader of Grenada (without congressional approval), supporter of the Contras and Afghan mujahideen, champion of missile defense, bomber of Libya and winner of the Cold War as a noninterventionist certainly gets points for creativity.

I dont claim to be the next Ronald Reagan nor do I attempt to disparage fellow Republicans as not being sufficiently Reaganesque, Paul wrote, even as he disparaged politicians for distorting Reagans (allegedly) real record. But I will remind anyone who thinks we will win elections by trashing previous Republican nominees or holding oneself out as some paragon in the mold of Reagan that splintering the party is not the route to victory.

This last bit was a reference to Cruzs CPAC speech in which Cruz mocked the GOPs tendency to nominate moderates: We all remember President Dole, President McCain and President Romney.

While probably sincere, Pauls long-standing commitment to Reagans 11th Commandment Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican also serves as a shrewd attempt to inoculate himself against real vulnerability.

His father was an often vicious critic of his fellow Republicans, including Reagan. In 1987, Ron Paul left the GOP to run as a libertarian presidential candidate, in the process denouncing Reagan for massive monetary inflation, indiscriminate military spending, an irrational and unconstitutional foreign policy, zooming foreign aid, the exaltation of international banking, and the attack on our personal liberties and privacy. Reaganomics, said Paul the Elder, was simply warmed-over Keynesianism. Rand is a very different man than his father, but his big-tent conservatism is a bit ironic given the fact he worked on his fathers campaign and is the heir to the Paul machine.

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Tea Party food fight: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul do battle